Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Fable II - not a review...

Fable II is my first full game on Xbox and I've gotta say I'm impressed. It's Zelda with a sense of humour for the Nintendo* hating generation. It's also huge, which is why this is not a review, I'm probably a quarter of the way through. It's incredibly easy to get side tracked by a mission here and a mission there. The main quest jogs the story along nicely but there's just so much else to do.

For the uninitiated this a Peter Molyneux game, one of those game creators that divides opinion largely because of his Marmite personality and the way his games don't take themselves too seriously. Fable is set in the mythical realm of Albion, you can play as a male or female protagonist from a third person perspective battling to avenge the murder of your sibling.

The world is full of monsters, bandits and town folk. You can play as an evil bugger or play the hero, either being loved and admired by people or feared, building your reputation as you go. There's a nice, if slightly limiting, emotion engine that allows you to flirt and show off in front of people. You can also fart. Hold down the fart for longer and I'm assured you can have a trouser accident... yes AT, you can shit yourself.

The levelling up system isn't great to be honest. It's confusing and poorly implemented but it barely seems to matter. After nearly each fight I'm learning a new spell or how to aim a gun/strike with my sword more effectively. If it all sounds a bit twee, it kinda is, but with a nice earthy spin. You can pull someone, shag them, wear a condom, or risk getting them pregnant. You can get married, have kids etc, it's a proper action adventure RPG with a sort of middle earth soap opera thrown in. I'd like to point out that although several women in the game now want to marry me, none of them have put out. Brilliant.

Oh and you have a pet dog that follows you everywhere, sniffing out treasure. You can even throw the beast a ball to play fetch with.

Graphics? It's ok looking if not a true next gen stunner. Although I may just be getting fussy after the joy of FFXIII sumptuous visuals.

Nicest touch of all though is that you can earn in game money while your Xbox is turned off. So you can buy a property or three, rent them out, leave the game for a few days and come back to a pile of cash. Sweet.

So it's engaging, kinda pretty in places and seems to have a decent story behind it. Not a bad first dip of the toe into the Xbox pond.